


soft epilogue

by juliasaint



Category: The End Of The Fucking World (TV)
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Romance, they just chill and have a nice life ok, yes this is basically we deserve a soft epilogue my love we're good people and we've suffered enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:21:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28939176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliasaint/pseuds/juliasaint
Summary: James and Alyssa settle down quietly and James realises he's happier than ever.
Relationships: Alyssa/James (The End of the Fucking World)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 33





	soft epilogue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alphabeting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphabeting/gifts).



> This a Christmas gift for my lovely friend Hannah. We met through a TEOTFW fanfic, so this seemed right. The only downside to writing you something is that I don't have you to help me edit it!  
> Special thanks to Brunella, who gave this a read.

So, yeah. At first James didn’t really think it would work out. Or, he thought it would work out for a while and then it wouldn’t. It seemed like a sensible thing to expect from himself and Alyssa. After all, they’d always been sort of weird together. Weird in a way that probably meant they weren’t going to marry and settle down quietly.

But then it sort of happens. 

First they’re dating, or something similar enough. They see each other almost every day, talk for hours and go out for dinner. They hold hands when they walk together and make out under the yellow light of streetlamps. Alyssa goes back to being a waitress and James starts working in a grocery store. He finds he likes the routine, he likes feeling so normal. They move in together, a decision they make because maybe it makes sense. And it turns out it does. James thought maybe it’d be a mess, they’d fight all the time, something would end up aflame. He pictured another one of their charming blunders, a travelling adventure with far too much crime going on. 

But they just live together. They’re both clean enough to almost never fight about it. James turns out to be quite a good cook and Alyssa, despite all her rebelliousness, always remembers when they have to pay the bills. He finds this endearing, like her face when she’s still sleepy and the cute coffee mugs she likes to drink from. Sometimes he surprises himself with how much he enjoys this mundane life, how much it feels like a grand, joyful event to just eat toast while Alyssa’s favorite album plays in the other room. 

Alyssa starts painting. She picks up a lot of hobbies but painting is the only one she sticks to. She makes huge paintings with colours that sort of reach into James’ chest and make him ache all over. They’re quite good, he thinks. She does too. Lots of people do too. It also turns out she’s quite good at selling her art to rich pricks. This doesn’t surprise James, who’s seen how easily she makes conversation in the diner, her big fake smile blinding as she turns the dialogue however she wants. Soon enough they move to a bigger place and she quits waitressing to paint, devoting most of her time to it. 

Their new house is bigger, sunlight streaming in from every window. They decorate it little by little, bringing in objects they think will fit just right whenever they find them. James buys vases that are shaped in a weird way and strange lamps he finds in the street. Alyssa gets extravagant tables and chairs, laughs loudly about the mismatched look of their house. He knows she means it in the best possible way because her eyes crease to the sides and she tangles her arms around his neck, laughing against his chest. 

She seems quite happy, which makes James happy too. Sometimes he thinks this is what makes the most sense, Alyssa finding something beautiful to do. He doesn’t know how to put it in words without sounding like an idiot but it’s like Alyssa’s fierceness was always meant to become something like this, intense and meant to exist forever. He likes thinking she might show up in art history a hundred, a thousand years from now. He fantasizes about a text rambling on about her talent right next to one of her paintings and a picture of her face, her brows furrowed, her eyes distracted. He thinks she might make it so big without ever losing herself. 

James also wants something more. He’s actually made up his mind. He declares it one day while he’s cooking and Alyssa is staring at one of her paintings, her lips twisted as she tries to decide if it’s done or not. He’s nervous but he manages to get the words out.

“I think I wanna be a child psychologist.” To help kids like him, to make sure no child goes through the awful things that happened to him without someone on their side, someone capable of unraveling their suffering and get them back to a healthy, normal life. He doesn’t say that. He’s already scared enough Alyssa will make fun of him. 

She looks at him, straight in the eye. She’s making that serious face of hers, not the judging one she does for the paintings. The blank one with her eyes slightly narrowed, the one that makes her sound even more honest than usual.

“You’ll be super good at it, James.” And that’s it. She brings some brochures the next day so he can start looking at his options, her face lit up like she’s honestly excited for him.

Honestly, James should have known Alyssa wouldn’t be mean about it. She’s not really mean anymore, not in a way that would really hurt. She still complains when he forgets to take the trash out and is fueled by rage if they watch a movie and something doesn’t sit quite right with her, but it’s not like before. She frowns much less, he’s noticed. She laughs a lot more, easily and lovely. 

He’s not really sure why she isn’t mean anymore. Maybe she’s just grown, like him. He feels calmer now, especially since his dad died. Maybe her fleeting marriage did something similar for her, made her realize she’s more than an angsty teen now.

Sometimes she paints all in red, hellish and frightful. Sometimes she paints in soft pastels that make James feel like it’s easier to breathe. She paints a small pastel piece for his birthday, because Alyssa always knows what James will like. They hang it over their bed. James cries a little. 

He starts going to university and he isn’t too bad at it. He might be quite good, actually. His teachers seem to like him because he doesn’t speak that much but whenever he does it’s to actually say something insightful. He likes studying and he likes having a winter break again, it makes him feel as young as he actually is. He likes being a college student and coming back home to his girlfriend after class. Sometimes he forgets all about how he met Alyssa, sometimes he feels like this is how they’ve always been. Maybe they met in a normal way, bumped into each other on the street, reached for the last orange juice in the grocery store at the same time. 

At some point James looks around and realizes it’s been years since they first moved in together. He realizes he hasn’t been scared of Alyssa leaving for a long time, of himself doing anything stupid and ruining everything. He starts wondering if maybe he should propose, not because he feels like he should be because he wants to. 

Alyssa doesn’t talk much about marriage. She doesn’t seem to hate it, which is a good sign. She never talks about Todd as a husband even though they have lunch together sometimes. James is still thinking about it when it slips out of him, thinking about sharing however many years he has left with her, about always coming back to her, doesn’t matter if he left for a half hour or a whole day. It’s not really startling when he realizes that’s the best part of his day, opening the door knowing she’s inside. 

They’re in bed, sort of watching a tv show but more sort of cuddling and talking quietly. James can feel Alyssa’s face wherever it touches his neck. The tip of her nose, one side of her mouth, her soft cheek, some of her hair. He just feels it inside of him, this peaceful wanting. He doesn’t want to ever lose her. He wants her to know this. 

“I’d like to marry you.” 

Alyssa doesn’t flinch, she doesn’t tense. She makes a small sound, one that seems affirmative to James. 

“Alright. That sounds good.” 

James can hear the smile in her voice. When he kisses her forehead, he thinks she can probably feel his smile on her skin. He thinks this is gonna work out after all. He thinks it might work out for forever. 


End file.
